Kane to miss 'upwards' of three weeks

Kane to miss 'upwards' of three weeks

Patrick Kanes injury didnt look good when it occurred just 23 seconds into Sundays game. The prognosis isnt great, but it could have been worse.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday morning that Kane will be out upwards of three weeks with what appeared to be a left ankle injury sustained against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.

Were hoping thats the maximum, Quenneville said of the three weeks. He added that theyll obviously take what time is needed to get Kane back healthy.

I think any injury you have to know when theyre ready to go. When part of the bodys ailing, you dont want to compromise yourself or the team and make it worse. You always give it the necessary time. Thats where were at, be it with him or Marian Hossa or whoever.

Now with Kane, Hossa (lower body) and Fernando Pisani (upper body) sidelined, obviously the Blackhawks have some adjusting to do.

They had only three forward lines rolling at Tuesdays practice. Jack Skille was on right wing with Viktor Stalberg and Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland was still centering Bryan Bickell and Troy Brouwer, and Tomas Kopecky and Patrick Sharp were with Jake Dowell.

To fill voids the Blackhawks will be making some call-ups from the Rockford IceHogs; Jeremy Morin, who worked with Kopecky and Sharp the last three games, could be one of those.

As for the other injuries, Quenneville said Pisani could be back on the ice in the next three days and Hossa could be back toward the end of the week.

The Blackhawks are going to have to make do for a bit, and take advantage of their home schedule. They talked about getting back to simple hockey at home, much like the game theyve played -- and won with -- on the road. Now, considering the amount of start talent sidelined, they have to.
Tracey Myers is CSNChicago.com's Blackhawks Insider. Follow Tracey on Twitter @TramyersCSN for up-to-the-minute Hawks information.

Three Things to Watch: Blackhawks collide with Senators

NBC Sports Chicago

Three Things to Watch: Blackhawks collide with Senators

Here are Three Things to Watch when the Blackhawks take on the Ottawa Senators tonight on NBC Sports Chicago and streaming live on the NBC Sports app. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with Blackhawks Pregame Live.

1. Trade chips.

The Blackhawks have reached the point in their season where they have no choice but to become sellers before the Feb. 26 deadline, and we saw that when they traded Michal Kempny to the Washington Capitals on Monday for a conditional third-round pick in 2018. Tommy Wingels could also be an attractive piece for a team looking to fill out their depth.

The Senators will definitely be sellers, and wow do they have some names potentially on the market that can fetch large returns: Derrick Brassard and Mike Hoffman are two players who log top-six minutes on a nightly basis and also have term left on their contract, which is great for teams looking to load up for this year and beyond.

The biggest name to watch, probably in the league altogether, is Erik Karlsson, who could be on the move if a team offers a big enough package for the Senators to pull the trigger now as opposed to in the offseason if they feel him re-signing is a long shot. He was the best defenseman last season, and if a team steps up to get him, they're getting two possible postseason runs out of him.

2. Artem Anisimov's experiment at left wing not working.

Joel Quenneville has tried rekindling the magic between Anisimov, Nick Schmaltz and Patrick Kane as of late, only this time Anisimov is playing the wing and it just hasn't been very effective. The trio was on the ice for each of the two 5-on-5 goals the Kings scored on Monday, and Anisimov completely lost his man on the first one.

It's important to establish a consistent left winger for Schmaltz and Kane, and maybe putting Alex DeBrincat up there is something you consider going forward as part of a long-term solution. Move Anisimov back down as the third-line center to play in more of a defensive role and continue using his big body on power plays for his offensive abilities might be the best bet.

3. Win the special teams battle.

In their last meeting against Ottawa on Jan. 9, the Blackhawks went 4-for-6 on the power play and 4-on-4 on the penalty kill in an 8-2 win. And those are two areas to look out for again.

The Senators own the 28th-ranked power play with a 16.1 percent success rate and 29th-ranked penalty kill with a 74.5 percent success rate. Get ready for another offensive outburst?